Creativity and mood disorders: The enigmatic case of Isaak Il’ich Levitan (1860–1900)

Vladimir Lerner, Jacob Margolin, Eliezer Witztum

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Isaak Levitan (1860–1900) was one of Russia’s most influential landscape artists. He lived a very short life, only 40 years, but left more than 1000 paintings. He suffered from mood fluctuations, and died as a result of serious heart disease. After an introduction related to the issue of creativity and mental disorders, a short biography of Levitan’s life is outlined, followed by some examples of his mood and behavior. A section on the mood’s reflection in Levitan’s professional work is followed by a description of his romantic loves and disappointments and his relationship with his contemporary Russian, the writer Anton Chekhov.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)90-98
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Medical Biography
    Volume25
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 1 May 2017

    Keywords

    • Levitan
    • affective disorders
    • artist
    • creativity
    • depression

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Medicine (miscellaneous)
    • History and Philosophy of Science

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